During this free preview period, these channels will be available to all Waitsfield Cable subscribers and may contain PG, PG-13, TV-14, TVMA and R rated programs. To block selected programs/channels using the Parental Controls feature, click here or contact our Service Department at 496-5800.

Fun was had by all at our annual community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 28th! Over 200 Valley residents attended the hunt on a beautiful wintery/spring day. Children of all ages enjoyed hunting for Easter Eggs, getting their picture taken with the Easter Bunny and filling their basket with goodies. Special thanks to WCVT employees who volunteered for the event.

Our annual customer satisfaction telephone surveys are underway and will be conducted by a company called Research America out of Pennsylvania. We thank you in advance if you receive a call and for your feedback. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Don’t miss any of the action of the NCAA® Men’s Division I Basketball Championships. The games begin on March 17th and run through April 6th.

Live Television Coverage
Waitsfield Cable Standard and Preferred customers will have access to all games of the tournament live on TV. Games will air on the following Waitsfield Cable channels: CBS (channel 3 or 203 in HD), TBS (channel 16 or 216 in HD), TNT (channel 17 or 217 in HD), and truTV (channel 89). For complete details of the tournament’s TV coverage, click here.

In preparation for our 2015-2016 Mad River Valley Telephone Directory, please take a moment to verify your current listing(s). To make a change in your directory listing, please call our Customer Service Department at 496-3391. For yellow page advertising (business accounts), contact Alan Jones at 496-8328 or ajones@wcvt.com.

The latest issue of our Business Connections Magazine is hot off the press and out for mail delivery. This issue spotlights Conner & Buck Builders in Starksboro, where incredible people form the foundation for incredible homes.

Some users have reported receiving a phishing email. Green Mountain Access does not send email asking for users to send login/password info via email. If you receive one of these, please delete the scam email and do not reply.

Due to the continued annual escalation in programming fees, including increases to continue to carry our loca, regional and premium channels, the following rates will be effective with your February bill.

*A set-top box is required for each television. Applicable VT sales tax and public, educational and government surcharges apply.

For more information on what continues to drive cable TV rate increases, please read this announcement. As always, if you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Department at 496-5800.

Every three years, cable television providers throughout the country are required by law to negotiate with local broadcasters (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) for the rights to retransmit broadcast television signals to their cable customers. For the past several months, Waitsfield Cable has been in negotiations with these broadcasters for retransmission consent fees. Even though these over the air signals are broadcast free to the general public, cable television providers must pay what we view as excessive per subscriber monthly fees for the right to carry these networks.

A combination of factors has led to this unfortunate situation. Most notably, outdated and overly prescriptive federal retransmission consent and network non-duplication laws and regulations have granted the broadcasters both a monopoly in their markets and the right to demand payment for their signals. The two rules combined have given broadcasters extraordinary market power in their retransmission consent negotiations with cable operators, allowing them to make what can be viewed as “take-it-or-leave-it” deals.

In this process, it is not unusual for the broadcasters to discriminate against small cable operators. Independent providers, like Waitsfield Cable, are often charged higher per-subscriber fees than their local competitors, which include large operators and satellite TV providers with national reach. The broadcasters take advantage of our need to carry these local stations to our subscribers and their effective monopoly in the television market by demanding as much as they can.

In addition to the “take-it-or-leave–it” philosophy, the broadcasters do not allow the operators to disclose the retransmission fees that are being forced upon small companies such as Waitsfield Cable. In Vermont, small cable operators lobbied for the passage of Act 190 which provides that broadcasters disclose fees to the Attorney General’s Office but the fees do not get reported to the Attorney General until after January 1, 2015. At this point, unless we want to lose the programming from the broadcasters, the contracts will be signed and the excessive rate increases will be locked in.

We know you want a good value. When networks demand huge fee increases, we work to get the best offerings at the best price possible so we can keep your bill as low as possible. Waitsfield Cable strives to do our best to negotiate fair fees so we can bring you the most affordable television service possible. However, we are facing big challenges.

Consolidation among the major networks means they have even more negotiating power.

These media conglomerates are demanding double or triple fee increases, and in some cases even more. The vast majority of your monthly cable bill pays for this programming.

We will be faced with two options — pay the exorbitant fees or lose the network(s) on our channel lineup through a “blackout.”

As a result, Waitsfield Cable will be forced to raise the rates of our TV packages to cover the expected fee increases from the networks. We will update you as this process continues and work diligently on your behalf to keep costs down. For more information on cable television programming challenges, visit http://tvonmyside.com. We urge you to reach out to your local Congressional delegation to voice your concern on this matter.